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POLITICO 44

President Barack Obama on Thursday pledged $100 million to support relief efforts in Haiti and said his administration has made the country, devastated by a powerful earthquake, a top priority.

"The losses that have been suffered in Haiti are nothing less than devastating, and responding to a disaster of this magnitude will require every element of our national capacity," Obama said in remarks at the White House on Thursday morning. “This is one of those moments that calls out for American leadership."

Obama said the search for American citizens — 45,000 are estimated to be living in Haiti — continues.

"We have no higher priority than the safety of American citizens," Obama said. “And you should know that we will not rest until we account for our fellow Americans in harm's way.”

Obama called the international relief effort in Haiti one of the largest in recent history, yet at the same time he warned that it will take time to get all of the resources on the ground.

“Even as we move as quickly as possible, it will take hours — and in many cases days — to get all of our people and resources on the ground,” Obama said, noting that Haiti’s port is badly damaged, communications are spotty and many roads are impassable.

“None of this will seem quick enough if you have a loved one who's trapped, if you're sleeping on the streets, if you can't feed your children, but it's important that everybody in Haiti understand, at this very moment one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history is moving towards Haiti,” he said.

Search and rescue teams are working on the ground and the U.S. military has secured the airport so resources and equipment can be brought into the country, Obama said, as he stood with Vice President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“I've made it clear to each of these leaders that Haiti must be a top priority for their departments and agencies right now,” Obama said, before announcing that this weekend Biden will travel to South Florida, which has one of the largest Haitian populations in the country, to meet with members of the Haitian community and others working on relief efforts.

Obama did not respond when a reporter asked him if he will be traveling to Haiti.

In concluding his remarks, Obama addressed Haitians directly.

“Few in the world have endured the hardships that you have known. Long before this tragedy, daily life itself was often a bitter struggle, and after suffering so much for so long, to face this new horror must cause some to look up and ask, have we somehow been forsaken?” he said. “To the people of Haiti, we say clearly, and with conviction, you will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you.

Before delivering his remarks, Obama was briefed on the situation in the Oval Office by members of the military and national security team. Wednesday night he called former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and asked them to lead a humanitarian relief effort.

So even if we could morally ignore the tragedy in Haiti as you'd wish us to do, it's always been in our own interest to stabilize Haiti. A basic understanding of regional politics:

1. Haitian famine and political disasters have previously driven thousands of Haitians to risk life and limb to come illegally to the US. Previous floods of refugees have pushed the Coast Guard to the brink. How can the coast guard fulfill its anti-drug and anti-terrorism roles and also rescue thousands of castaways at the same time? That undermines US security.

2. If we don't demonstrate absolute leadership in our own backyard, others will. Venezuela or Cuba would be willing to step into the void or even China. No more Monroe Doctrine buddy.

3. If the UN or US can re-establish order in Haiti it has the potential to join other failed states as a recruiting and training ground for terrorism.

I'm sure there are many more. So if you're amoral, I hope you're at least self-interested. Either way we can't afford to ignore Haiti.

The Republican party cares more about the "pantie bomber" than they do for the thousands who perished in Haiti. They were on cable TV 24-7 talking about the pantie bomber,but where are they now in this Haiti crises?

The Republican party cares more about the "pantie bomber" than they do for the thousands who perished in Haiti. They were on cable TV 24-7 talking about the pantie bomber,but where are they now in this Haiti crises?

I wish Obama and his team would work this hard fixing the economy. I have never heard Obama express any sympathy for Americans who are out of work and losing their homes. The liberals sure mobilize for blacks in foreign countries. That's for sure.

I wish Obama and his team would work this hard fixing the economy. I have never heard Obama express any sympathy for Americans who are out of work and losing their homes. The liberals sure mobilize for blacks in foreign countries. That's for sure.

I wish Obama and his team would work this hard fixing the economy. I have never heard Obama express any sympathy for Americans who are out of work and losing their homes. The liberals sure mobilize for blacks in foreign countries. That's for sure.

I wish Obama and his team would work this hard fixing the economy. I have never heard Obama express any sympathy for Americans who are out of work and losing their homes. The liberals sure mobilize for blacks in foreign countries. That's for sure.

3. If the UN or US can re-establish order in Haiti it has the potential to join other failed states as a recruiting and training ground for terrorism.

Rubbish. There is no basis for Islamic terrorism in Haiti. The main religion in Haiti is Voodoo (seriously!)

2. If we don't demonstrate absolute leadership in our own backyard, others will. Venezuela or Cuba would be willing to step into the void or even China. No more Monroe Doctrine buddy.

Cuba or Venzuela do not have the resrouces to rebuild a third world worthless country.

Is there oil there? And One could argue that the Monroe Doctrine has created the instability in Latin America.

1. Haitian famine and political disasters have previously driven thousands of Haitians to risk life and limb to come illegally to the US. Previous floods of refugees have pushed the Coast Guard to the brink. How can the coast guard fulfill its anti-drug and anti-terrorism roles and also rescue thousands of castaways at the same time? That undermines US security.

The Coast Guard could handle both tasks equally.

Haitians are not exactly coming in on speed boats. More like rafts. We could spend a fraction of the money on getting the Coast Gaurd ready then trying to rebuild a country that was third world pre-earth quake.

As a Traditional Dem, Obama should have made the Economy a Top priority. No one in Washington is Pragmatic. This is why the economy is still a mess.

What do you think?

If you haven't done so you should read Bacevitch's "The Limits of Power." You can't say to Americans that they must limit themselves and get elected. You can only promise that you'll limit the excesses of the opposite party. Conservatives want will tell their constituants that they'll limit welfare while liberals say they'll limit corporate welfare. But you tell your constituants that they're great and never have to sacrifice anything so they have non constraint or sense of economy. It's a system that can only work by furthering empire and that is unsustainable in the 21rst century. It's an apt argument.